1. Cold Cats find sizzling Swans too hot early
THERE was much conjecture about which team had the better preparation heading into Friday night's clash: Geelong after one game in three weeks or the Swans following two consecutive finals and a six-day break. It didn't take long to find out. The Swans bolted from the blocks from the opening siren, blitzing the Cats with a seven-goal-to-none first quarter. Despite entering the game with Gary Rohan (knee) and Kurt Tippett (jaw) under injury clouds, the Swans had a collective spring in their step in the first quarter while the Cats were rustier than a boxer coming off a three-year layoff, fumbling where the Swans were sure-handed and missing their rare shots on goal by big margins. By quarter-time the Swans' lead was 39 points and by the end of the night that essentially proved the difference.

• Match centre: full coverage, stats and highlights

• The moment: Buddy blasts off and the Cats go cold

2. Las Vegas native Agassi sees a Buddy show to reckon with
Tennis great Andre Agassi was his era's most flamboyant star and he was at the MCG to watch football's most flamboyant star strut his stuff on Friday night. Like the eight-time Grand Slam winner once did, Lance Franklin loves the big stage and the Swans superstar was one of the most influential players on the ground. As Agassi watched on alongside AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, Franklin worked up the ground in the first term to set up three Swans shots on goal with pin-point passes and then bombed a goal on the run from outside 50m. Late in the second term, he threaded a long set shot from close to the boundary line, while his defensive pressure all night was outstanding, his tackle on Cameron Guthrie early in the final quarter setting up a Gary Rohan goal that sank Geelong's faint hopes. It was another virtuoso finals performance from Buddy and one can only imagine Agassi left the MCG impressed. 

3. Swingman Taylor sparks Cats' fight-back
Geelong trailed by 55 points early in the third term when Swans ruckman Sam Naismith snapped a major from the goalsquare. The Cats had kicked just two goals to that stage of the game and looked set for a humiliating defeat. But a few minutes later they would kick consecutive goals for the first time in the game, through skipper Joel Selwood and Josh Caddy, and Harry Taylor then briefly threatened to get them back in the game. After spending the first half in defence and some time off the ground with an apparent hand injury, Taylor was swung into attack and midway through the third term kicked two goals in kick succession to bring the Cats to within 36 points. Geelong would close to within 30 points at the start of the final term when Rhys Stanley goaled, but that was as close as they got. 

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4. Aliir Aliir faces another week in the spotlight
It had already been a big week for Aliir Aliir after the Swans defender's fairy-tale journey from a refugee camp in Kenya to an AFL preliminary final was highlighted by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a speech to the United Nations in New York. But Aliir has an even bigger week ahead of him after he left the ground with a right knee injury late in the first term of Friday night's game. Aliir landed awkwardly after a marking contest with Cat Lincoln McCarthy and appeared to hyperextend his right knee. Despite appearing to move reasonably well when he tested the knee with some run-throughs early in the second quarter, Aliir was ruled out of the game late in the second term and spent the rest of the night icing his knee. The Swans will be sweating on the key defender's availability for the Grand Final given his rapid development this season, with veteran Ted Richards among his possible replacements if he fails to get up. 

Every Swan rated

5. Has Motlop purred for the last time?
If speculation Geelong will trade Steven Motlop this October proves correct, the classy midfielder ended his career at the Cattery with a whimper against the Swans. Manned by hard-nosed defender Nick Smith, Motlop had little influence in the first half when the Swans set up a game-winning lead, his most memorable moment coming early in the first term when he was on the wrong end of a Lance Franklin bump. Early in the third term, the Cats had kicked consecutive goals for the first time in the game and Motlop had a chance to make it three in a row when he ran towards the 50m line. But Franklin again spoiled his moment, rushing in to tackle him and thwart the Cats' attack. It was that sort of night for Motlop, who finished with 13 possessions and one behind. 

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